Theses and Dissertations from UMD

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    PSYCHOTHERAPY ENGAGERS VERSUS NON-ENGAGERS: ATTACHMENT STYLE, OUTCOME EXPECTATIONS, NEED FOR THERAPY, SESSION DURATION, AND THERAPIST HELPING SKILLS IN INTAKE SESSIONS
    (2011) Huang, Teresa Chen-Chieh; Hill, Clara E; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The present study investigated client attachment style, outcome expectations, need for therapy, intake duration and therapist helping skills associated with psychotherapy engagement. Intake sessions of 16 adults (8 non-engagers, i.e., post-intake dropouts; 8 engagers, i.e., clients who attended at least 8 sessions) in individual long-term therapy were divided into thirds (beginning, middle, and end of session). Statistical controls for therapist verbal activity level and clients nested within therapists were employed for helping skills analyses. With non-engagers, compared to engagers, therapists used more approval-reassurance in the beginning third of intake sessions, but marginally more reflections of feeling and marginally less information about the helping process in the last third of intakes. Non-engagers had higher pre-therapy anxious attachment and pre-therapy self-rated need for therapy than engagers. In sum, non-engagers versus engagers differed with therapist helping skills, client attachment style, and client need for therapy, but not intake duration or client outcome expectations.
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    Attending to Stories of High School Displacement: The Lived High School Experience of GED® College Graduates
    (2009) Snyder, Mary Grace Catherine; Hultgren, Francine H; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry is called by the question, "What is the lived high school experience of GED college graduates?" GED college graduates are people who have dropped out of high school, used the GED Tests to earn their jurisdiction's high school diploma, then graduated from a four-year institution. If these individuals have the intellectual acumen and personal commitment to earn a bachelor's degree, then why did they drop out of high school? Conversations with seven GED college graduates uncover the displacement that drove them out of a traditional high school program. The hermeneutic phenomenological methodology is grounded in the philosophical work of Heidegger, especially as developed by Merleau-Ponty and Levinas, which elicits an awareness of our embodied being's struggle to embrace Being and the moral necessity of responding to that presence. Van Manen's work guides the "doing" of this philosophy as human science research in education. The stories of the lived high school experiences of the seven GED college graduates reveal the disquiet of their displacement. They each felt that they did not fit the mold that high school wanted: they felt they were different, outcasts, not part of the "in crowd." They felt the inequitable treatment and bodily discomfort caused by this difference. They report only a nominal, caring presence at school, and this disregard further alienated them. School was disappointed in their lack of commitment and enthusiasm for traditional coursework, and the students, in turn, were disappointed that school cared so little for their needs. Dropping out protected them from the pain of further displacement. Attending to these stories of displacement may help educators imagine a different way of creating high school. Smaller high schools might make each student a more significant part of the student body, better known to teachers, and more likely to feel implaced. Additionally, alternate programs might allow students to deviate from the traditional K-12 timeline into work experiences, to follow compelling interests, or to gather into community around similar questions about their world. Teacher preparation programs that offer multiple visions for high school could be instrumental in making such change a reality.
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    Predicting school dropout among youth with disabilities: The roles of youth characteristics, academic experiences and emotional engagement factors.
    (2009) Zablocki, Mark Steven; Leone, Peter E; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of disability classification, individual characteristics, academic experiences and emotional engagement on dropping out of school among youth with disabilities. Variables related to youth characteristics and school experiences were drawn from the first three waves of the National Longitudinal and Transitional Study 2 database. Chi-square analyses, t-tests, reliability analysis and logistic regression were used to answer five research questions. The descriptive results showed that there were significant group differences between dropouts and non-dropouts on disability classification, race/ethnicity, gender, disciplinary school exclusion, grade retention, grades and levels of emotional engagement. Logistic regression results showed that disability classification and race/ethnicity characteristics were reduced to non-significance when controlling for gender, household income, academic experiences and emotional engagement factors. Predictors that increased the odds of dropping out were out of school suspensions or expulsions and grade retention. Additionally, girls had significantly increased odds of dropping out compared to boys when controlling for other variables in the model. Factors associated with decreased odds of dropping out included coming from households with higher than average income, higher than average grades and higher levels of emotional engagement. The findings suggest that factors related to academic experiences significantly increased the odds of dropping out beyond disability classification or ethnic membership alone. Higher than average levels of emotional engagement were also associated with decreased odds of dropping out but appeared to have the smallest effect. Recommendations stress that school practices such as disciplinary removal and grade retention should be carefully considered, and that school programs be in place to help keep youth at-risk from dropping out.
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    Retention of Couples in Treatment of Intimate Partner Violence
    (2005-05-03) Kursch, Mary Sarah; LaTaillade, Jaslean J; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The treatment of choice for intimate partner violence (IPV) has been gender specific psychoeducational groups for offenders, but these groups have high drop out rates (Babcock & La Taillade, 2000). An alternative therapy available for the treatment of IPV is couple therapy. The current study explored variables predictive of couple retention in a treatment outcome study designed to prevent IPV. Sixty-nine couples seeking therapy for mild-to-moderate levels of physical and psychological abuse in their relationship were included. Couples received one of two treatment protocols to address IPV, as part of the Couples Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP): (1) treatment as usual; and (2) cognitive behavioral therapy. Specific pre-treatment variables examined included relationship satisfaction, communication patterns, psychological and physical aggression, pre-treatment levels of psychopathology, and client and therapist perceptions of the efficacy of treatment. Findings regarding variables discriminating between treatment completers and non-completers, and clinical implications for treatment of IPV were discussed.
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    DISTRESS TOLERANCE AS A PREDICTOR OF EARLY TREATMENT DROPOUT IN A RESIDENTIAL SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT FACILITY
    (2005-03-15) Daughters, Stacey Brooke; Lejuez, Carl W; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    A large percentage of individuals entering residential treatment for substance abuse dropout of treatment early, often leading to subsequent relapse. Although a number of studies have investigated the predictors of treatment dropout, the particular characteristics that affect one's ability to cope with the initial stages of treatment and abstinence have not been addressed. As one line of research, the concept of distress tolerance, defined as one's ability to tolerate either psychological or physical distress, has been shown to be related to early lapse in abstinence attempts in illicit drug users, smokers, and gamblers. Although clearly applicable, the relationship between distress tolerance and early treatment dropout has yet to be examined. Thus, in the current study it was hypothesized that levels of distress tolerance would predict whether individuals dropout of treatment within 30 days. Specifically, 122 individuals entering a residential substance abuse treatment facility completed a battery of selfreport measures assessing characteristics previously demonstrating a relationship with residential substance abuse treatment dropout, namely demographic variables, mood variables, levels of psychopathology, substance-use severity, social support, and treatment readiness. Additionally, participants completed behavioral measures of psychological and physical distress tolerance. As hypothesized, logistic regression analyses indicated that psychological distress tolerance predicted early treatment dropout above and beyond relevant self-report variables. There was no relationship between physical distress tolerance and early treatment dropout. Implications for future studies and treatment development/modification are discussed.